With this article we close a series of posts on learning techniques and how to improve your memory. The other articles in the series, all highly recommended, are:
- Learning techniques used by people who learn fastest
- 5 techniques (strategies) for learning faster, part 2
- 4 science-backed tricks to improve your memory
We start from the false belief that once someone is no longer a teenager, they will have serious trouble learning a new skill, when the truth is that even a rusty, underused brain can be trained from scratch.
The problem is not so much that we think learning will be harder, but that as we get older we think we already know a lot, and we come up with hundreds of excuses to avoid admitting the truth: we can’t be bothered to learn new things.
The brain is like any other muscle: it has to be exercised to get stronger. But just as when someone joins a gym for the first time, tiredness and the first difficulties will quickly sap their motivation.
Of course, it shouldn’t be that way, so let’s look at a few ways to come to terms with what we are up against.
1. The mind is lazy by nature.
Neither our body nor our mind really likes to work. If I offer you a choice between a sun lounger on the beach and a 10-kilometre run, it’s clear at first which one you’d prefer. But the mind and the body have something in common: they are hard to exercise until that exercise becomes a habit.
Our mind doesn’t really like facing problems and new skills at first, in the same way that the first time we go to the gym and start lifting weights, we feel somewhat clumsy and worn out.
But after many sessions we will probably notice a change: by thinking less and doing more, the body starts to show results, to the point that over time it can even become fun and rewarding. The same thing happens with the brain.
That’s why, when you find yourself learning a new skill, you have to be mentally prepared for the difficulty, because it isn’t going to be easy (otherwise everyone would do it), but don’t let that discourage you either. Keep pushing and fighting through the difficulty, and with time and practice everything will change and you will start to enjoy it. It will no longer be easy or hard, but rather automatic.
In short, the first step is the right mindset and the right attitude towards the initial difficulty, because there is one. Let’s not kid ourselves about that.
2. Focus and distractions.
The problem with most students is that they sit down to study, but not to learn. There is a world of difference, and we explained that point in the earlier articles listed above. This focus is very important.
As for distractions, every time one comes up, of whatever kind, our brain has to do the extra work of coming back, refocusing and concentrating again. And learning a specific skill effectively requires full attention. Can you learn with distractions? Of course, but it will be harder.
So try to cut out all distractions. Try time blocks during which there is nothing else: no Facebook, no phone, no television and, if possible, no interruptions from other people. Remember that every interruption forces the brain to refocus, and so drains more and more of our energy, meaning we have to put in more time and end up more tired.
3. Don’t lie to yourself.
When your mind enters “extreme laziness” mode, you will hear a little voice telling you to leave it for tomorrow, or that next week you’ll be able to get back to it more seriously. Ignore those voices; they are self-excuses that lead to the all-too-familiar procrastination.
In other words, it is your own laziness giving you reasons not to do something you should be doing. And the only way to avoid procrastinating is to take action and create an obligation starting now, until that obligation turns into a habit.
Learning new skills is not easy at all, but it is necessary to move forward, and certain skills will set us well apart from other people.
Remember that not everyone will be willing to make the sacrifice of giving up laziness to learn something, and that is the difference between the lazy person and the one who makes the effort. By sheer probability, the lazy person achieves far less than someone who works hard at something.
Further reading
Featured image: Unknown author, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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